The Piano
by Corilyne
Summary: Aravis is trying to adjust to her new life in Archenland. She just needs the help of the piano in the library, and two princes.


Aravis had enjoyed her time at Anvard for the five months she had been there. The king had been very kind to her, giving her comfortable rooms and helping her along as she learned the customs of Archenland and the northern countries. They were very different to those of Calormen, though not in a bad way.

She remembered the time when she had thanked Lune for protecting her from her father and the forced marriage, and then asked politely whom_ he_ thought that she should marry.

The poor king had stood there for a moment in shock, but finally asked, "You…you meant…l_ater_…didn't you?"

"Oh, of course!" she had answered, "We'd have to wait a few months, wouldn't we?"

He had been so confused that she left to go ask Cor about his father's behavior, though she thought now that perhaps it may have been better to have asked _Corin_ first, having known his father longer than his twin had.

After she had asked, he had answered, "I don't know, really. I think it has to do with the customs here, though I suppose that it'd be rather inconvenient for a lady to marry later in life, for…" he had trailed off and turned a brilliant shade of red.

Aravis, understanding what he had been implying, hit him on the shoulder for his train of thought and then stomped off to find Corin.

She wouldn't have made such a big deal of it had she known that Corin would laugh long and hard at her ignorance, resulting in her hitting him harder than she did Cor (why, she didn't know). It hadn't been until a month later when the Narnians had come that she had her question finally explained to her satisfaction by King Edmund.

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She knew that King Lune was really trying to understand her, but he had a hard time doing so. She felt almost the same way about him. He would be like a father to her, but there were some things that she was still cautious to ask him about.

She didn't talk to Cor much, but he was the only person that she had felt comfortable around during the first few weeks. He understood her struggles with learning new things. When Corin had joyously announced that it was snowing, she and Cor had both rushed to the window to see this wonder for themselves. She had heard of it, but had never seen it with her own eyes…  
She had learned soon after that it wasn't as amazing as she had first thought. Shoveling it was tedious work, especially with Cor and Corin. Cor stood and just looked at it and hardly got any work done, and Corin ran around in it and threw snowballs at her too often for her to enjoy it much.

Once she had gotten over the initial shock of the new country, it was Corin that she had the most fun with. He was so easy to get along with, though he _did_ annoy her to no end. She gradually realized that that was just his personality, and no matter how long and how mercilessly he teased her, it was all in fun. There was one type of teasing that she couldn't bear, and that was to be called a coward. He had only called her that once, and she had made it clear that that was not something to be played with. He had challenged her to an archery match, and she had refused, knowing that he had learned from Queen Susan, and she had learned from her brother.

"_Why not, Aravis? Are you scared?" he laughed happily, "I believe that you're scared that you'll lose to me! I ought to tell my dearest brother that you're a coward!"_

_She stopped smiling, but he didn't know that, because her back was turned. She tried to control her feelings, really, she had, but in the end, she just couldn't do it. Her hand curled into a fist, and she hit him as hard as she could, right in the nose. His eyes widened as it began to bleed. _

"_What was that for?" he asked, frantically trying to stop flow of blood gushing from the wounded member._

_She ran off without answering, because she didn't really know why she had reacted the way she did._

_Corin had avoided her for days after, making up a story about how Cor had finally gotten a lucky hit during a fight. He had eventually sought her out and apologized, and she told him that she forgave him and that she was sorry as well, so he forgave her, and the incident was closed._

As she lay in bed at night, she knew that Corin's words were true when he had called her a coward. There was one thing that she just couldn't ask anyone about. It was the piano.

She had heard the queens and people around the castle play it from time to time, but she could never work up the courage to learn. Cor had been made to take lessons for it, and she stayed in the room when he played, pretending to read a book.

It had been weeks before she was finally able to ask him to teach her, and he had proved to be a good tutor. They only played when no one was around, though (especially Corin. If he had found out about this, they would never have heard the end of it).

As she grew more advanced, Cor didn't need to correct her fingers now and then and he just sat and listened to her play, occasionally making comments about what was particularly good or what she could improve on.

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Finally, she worked up the courage to play alone, without asking Cor to come help her. Nervously, she looked about the library, taking in all the books and the chairs, the windows showing the trees and the world outside. As she placed her fingers on the keys, she told herself to just play for them; no one else needed to hear.

She played with her heart and soul that day, from the first note of the first song.

She didn't tell anyone about her obsession with the piano. During the afternoon, she'd just go and play. Occasionally, she would hear people talking about the mysterious player, and she almost stopped for fear of being found out.

She didn't know why she was so terrified of someone knowing; it was written off as one of her faults. It was just like Cor's initial fear of the Narnian royalty, or Corin's terror of Princess Leah of Terebinthia; they couldn't be helped.

It was the day after she had heard the people talking about her, and she gritted her teeth, put her fingers in position on the keys, and began to play.

She was half-way through the first song when someone whispered, "You missed that note."

She jumped and her fingers slammed down on the wrong keys. She looked around the room quickly ad saw the speaker.

Corin was sitting backwards in one of the huge armchairs, with his hands folded under his head, which was resting on the top.

"Corin!" she shrieked, "How long have you been here?"

"Days!" came his shocked reply, "I thought you knew!"

"W-what?" she whispered shakily.

"I was sitting here when you asked Cor to help you learn. I must say, you've improved a lot!"

"Why? Why were you there? Why didn't you say anything?" her voice steadily grew in volume until she was shouting at him.

"Like I said, I thought you knew," he shrugged.

"But why were you there?" she ground out.

"This is the best place to finish school work," he said, looking around, "All the books are right here!"

"You…you won't tell anyone, will you?" she asked, suddenly scared.

"Why not? You play well!" he remarked.

"You don't need to know why; just don't tell anyone!"

"Alright!" he put his hands up in mock surrender, "Though when you were first learning, I'd have to say that you sounded like you were sweet on my brother!" he smirked.

"I…I did not!" Aravis knew that she was blushing, "I was nervous!"

"Nervous or not…" he trailed off, allowing her to figure out his meaning for herself.

She understood.

"Corin, I'm fourteen!"

"Well, I heard that that was …never mind," he shook his head, "I won't tell anyone, but just remember that I know!" he grinned and sauntered out of the room.

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It wasn't until years later when she was married to the crown prince of Archenland that she finally admitted that Corin was right, and she decided that it was the piano that helped her realize it.

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Like it? Hate it? Please tell me!

~C


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